[Dean's World] J.A. Eddy: Democrats, Congress and Netroots, Oh My!

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by J.A. Eddy:
Democrats, Congress and Netroots, Oh My!
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1187809358.shtml


   Well, since nobody else is willing to post today I guess itâs up to
   me. A couple of posts have caught my eye today, both from [1]InstaMan.

   First, thereâs [2]this by Glenn Greenwald- he opines that the low
   approval ratings of Congress are due to Democrat voters being upset
   with the lack of substantive investigations of the Bush Administration
   as well as the dearth of symbolic attempts to end the Iraq war. Heâs
   got some numbers on his side and Iâm inclined to agree with portions
   of his analysis, particularly the following:

     But the reason for these low approval ratings is as clear as it is
     meaningful -- the overall ratings for Congress are so low because
     Democrats disapprove of the Democratic Congress almost as much as
     Republicans do. There is nothing unusual about how Republicans or
     independents rate the Democratic Congress; the only aspect of any
     of this that is unusual is that Democrats rate the Congress so low
     even though it is controlled by their own party. Virtually every
     poll demonstrates this. (Emphasis is Glennâs)

   Essentially he argues that if Democratâs approved of Congress the same
   way Republicans approve of Bush the numbers for congressional approval
   would be much better. I think he goes off the deep end when he opines
   that an overwhelming percentage of the population wants in-depth
   investigations of the Presidency, but given his ideological leanings I
   see why he believes it.

   The comments are the real gold mine here. They remind me of Limbaugh
   castigating the Republican majority back in the Clinton years. Lots of
   déjà vu there.

   This is followed up by a post at [3]Cadillac Tight regarding a
   purported netroots mobilization targeting Blue Dog Democrats (or âBush
   Dogâ Democratsâ as they are called by the folks at [4]OpenLeft). Joe
   at Cadillac Tight notes:

     Twenty-six out of thirty-eight (68%) of these targeted Democrats
     are from Southern or Southeastern regions, which makes sense, since
     itâs primarily Blue Dogs weâre talking about here. That makes this
     another netroots war against regions of the country that elect
     these Democrats precisely because they are Blue Dogs. Itâs obvious
     when you read netroots diaries that there is a lot of disdain for
     and rage against Democratic voters who donât identify with the
     progressive movement, and efforts like this one by Stoller and
     Bowers (Northeastern liberals both) only serve to highlight that
     disdain and rage. Rather than âpunishingâ the Blue Dogs, the New
     Democrats, or the voters who elect them, the Democratic party is
     likely to be punished itself at the polls if this effort becomes
     associated with the party, rather than the progressives.

     Writing off the South has never proven to be a winning strategy for
     Democrats. Even given the results of last yearâs election, itâs
     unlikely to be one in the future.

   Now, give the guys at [5]OpenLeft a little credit, as they are calling
   for criticism of the Blue Dogs and other conservative democrats in
   Congress as an attempt to correct their behavior; however, the threat
   is clear that they would like progressive candidates to challenge
   these Democrats in the Primaries. It worked so well in Connecticut,
   after allâ¦

   Wishful thinking on one side, self-destructive behavior on the other-
   Iâm with Glenn Reynolds: the Democrats and the netroots are trying to
   outstrip the Republicans in stupidity and willful ignorance. Iâd be
   laughing if this wasnât such a critical time in need of truly rational
   thought from our political leadership.

References

   1. http://www.instapundit.com/
   2. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/08/21/congress/index.html
   3. http://cadillactight.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/openleft-directs-netroots-fire-at-conservative-democrats/
   4. http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/22/94647/5187
   5. http://openleft.com/